Due to the latest shift in paradigms, more and more doctors are shifting to an “exam” or “study” based approach to patient care. The concept of a study in these paradigms moves away from a smearing of image acquisitions to more of a specific region-of-interest (ROI) approach. In dentistry, for example, while the concept of a full-mouth series (FMX) of images still has its place in this paradigm, the FMX changes from the primary diagnosis tool to more of a historical milestone that can be used as a historical frame of reference for a current ROI. When a doctor needs to reference a ROI for a current study, he is typically only interested in historical images that reference the current ROI for the current study. In other words, the doctor typically only wants to reference the images that directly pertain to the current ROI. In addition, with refinements, advancements and quality increases in digital pantomograph X-ray systems, pantomograph X-rays are quickly replacing FMXs as the preferred method for taking complete mouth X-rays. Pantomograph images can be taken more quickly and require far less hassle in terms of interaction time and sterilization. This shift to pantomograph systems results in intra-oral X-rays being used for specific ROI images.
While mounted series proved invaluable in organizing historical hard copies of images in file folders, their use in today's digital world is more legacy than practical. Once the doctor viewed the images in the new template, these templates were stored in the patient's chart only to remain there until the doctor may one day want to look at the historical progression of a particular area in a patient's mouth. Since these images were physical hard copies, the doctor knew where to look in each of the templates for the ROI. Today, electronic organization of images means that doctors no longer have to sift through template after template looking for specific images that they are interested in for a ROI. Templates are typically graphically represented by boxes positioned in anatomical positions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,579 to Dove et al. describes a method and apparatus for storing and displaying radiographs, particularly intra-oral radiographs. When processing intra-oral radiographs, an icon takes the form of a dental film holder, with the positions of the film holder corresponding to anatomical sites readily recognized by dentists, each position of the film holder being arranged in anatomical relation to other positions of the film holder icon.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.